Dining In Philadelphia? You Might Experience This Uncommon Alcohol Rule

For many of us, choosing a cocktail, wine, or beer is an intrinsic part of dining out. You might be used to perusing the beverage menu just like you do the food menu, picking not just your favorites but things that go well together, too. In Philadelphia, though, your odds of encountering a different kind of experience are especially high. Many of the best restaurants in Philly are BYOB, or "bring your own bottle."

There are BYOB restaurants everywhere, but the City of Brotherly Love has a particularly large number of them. That's because restaurants tend to be BYOB when they don't have a liquor license, meaning they can't legally sell their own alcohol but can allow patrons to bring in their own. And Philadelphia is a city with notorious struggles around obtaining a liquor license.

Pennsylvania is one of 17 control states or jurisdictions, where the government controls wholesale alcohol sales. The Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board set a limit on how many new liquor licenses it would grant restaurants in Philadelphia back in 1939, and that quota has been hit, so there simply are no new liquor licenses for Philly restaurants. The only way a restaurant can get one nowadays is if another restaurant with a license sells theirs. They can charge exorbitant amounts thanks to scarcity — as much as $300,000 compared to around $4,300 to $5,800 in New York City. It's cheaper and easier for Philly restaurants to just adopt the BYOB model.

BYOBs do require actually remembering to "B" your own "B." But they offer serious perks. BYOBs are a money-saver. If you already have wine at home to bring, you can skip beverage costs altogether. Even if you stop to buy a bottle, though, remember wine gets upcharged at restaurants. The restaurant has to factor other costs into that sale, like wages for the staff, glassware, and storage. If you bring your own bottle, you could pay $15 instead of $60 or $75. Some restaurants charge corkage fees to make up some of the money they lose on alcohol sales, but most Philadelphia BYOBs don't have these.

You also have exponentially more options. A restaurant can only offer so many beverages on its menu. With BYOB, you can have whatever you like to drink. Love some of the most popular ready-to-drink cocktails on shelves? Take one! Prefer an obscure beer you brought home from vacation? Why not! Just pay attention to some basics for pairing food and wine, or beer, or spirits. Think about the cuisine you'll be eating at the restaurant, and what beverage flavors and intensities would work well with it. 

Some Philadelphia-area restaurants enhance the BYOB experience, too. Mexican eatery La Baja partners with a wine shop that delivers bottles to guests' tables, and Filipino spot Tabachoy keeps a communal beer fridge if you forget to stop for your own. Pro tip: If you want cocktails, call ahead to see if the restaurant offers mixers and garnishes.